Ink feeding device



April 26, 1955 E. N. BURNETT INK FEEDING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1953 INVENTOR. EDWARD IV. BURNETT April 1955 E. N. BURNETT INK FEEDING DEVICE Filed Oct. 15, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ED WARD N. BURNETT W WMNWL ATTOENE United States Patent O INK FEEDING DEVICE Edward N. Burnett, San Lorenzo, Calif., assignor to Gerber Products Company, Fremont, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 15, 1953, Serial No. 386,270 Claims. (Cl. 101--363) This invention relates to new and useful mechanism for feeding ink onto vertical printing rolls. Reference is made to assignees co-pending application Ser. No. 312,448, filed October 1, 1952, on Ink Feeding Device. The invention is characterized by the fact that it comprisesa feed mechanism for transferring ink from a well to printing type mounted on a cylindrical platen which revolves about a vertical shaft.

The present invention has particular application in applying designating markings to cartons for canned goods and the like, wherein a container is advanced along a horizontal conveyor past a wheel which carries rubber type which marks the carton. Thus, where a variety of different kinds of canned goods is packed in cartons, the contents of the cartons may be identified by printing on the sides thereof the type of product enclosed. Ink is applied to the type face by contact with an inked steel roll, the ink being transmitted to the steel roll from a rubber roll.

A variety of different methods have been employed heretofore to apply ink to the type face. One such method has been to employ an attendant to brush or spray ink manually onto the rubber roll; this method has the disadvantage of requiring the hire of the attendant, and it further results in lack of uniformity in the density of the resulting printing. Other methods which have been employed heretofore have involved use of various types of pumps which pump ink from a well onto the exterior of the rubber roll or into the hollow interior of a sponge rubber roll. Such pumps break down and the passageways thereof tend to clog easily. Repair of the pumps is time consuming and requires shutting down the packing line. vStill another means of applying ink to the type is by means of a wheel which rotates on a horizontal axis and dips ink from a well at the bottom of its cycle and rubs it directly across the face of the type at the top of its cycle. This method has the disadvantage of wearing the type face rapidly.

The present invention employs a spring-type metal belt which is reeved about pulleys so that the belt is supplied with ink near the bottom of its cycle and passes up over the top of a rubber roll, the ink flowing off of the belt and onto the surface of the rubber roll. roll the ink is transferred to a metal roll and thence to the type face on the platen.

One of the principal objects and advantages of this ink feeder is the accessibility and ease of cleaning of the parts. Further, little or no maintenance is required in that there are no passageways, valves, tubes, and the like which require cleaning or which may clog if the machine is temporarily shut down.

Another advantage of the invention is that a solid, molded rubber transfer roll may be employed, thereby replacing the composite sponge rubber rolls which have heretofore been employed with internal pump feeders. The sponge rubber rolls harden and become less resilient as the ink dries therein and hence the efficiency of the ink transfer mechanism greatly diminishes with time.

One of the distinguishing features of this invention is the fact that the spring-type metal belt which transfers ink to the rubber roll is not immersed in the ink well, but on the contrary, is at all times slightly elevated above the ink surface. Inasmuch as printing mechanisms of the character with which this invention is concerned stand idle for long periods of time, the fact that the spring belt is not immersed in the ink is advantageous particularly in lill'llatbllik is corrosive and thus tends to diminish the life of t e e t.

From the rubber The ink is applied to the belt at the lower stretch of its cycle by means of a blade fastened to the pulley around which the belt passes at the lower point of its travel. The blade is arranged to project radially from the periphery of the pulley and since the pulley is positioned proximate, although not in contact with, the ink in the ink well, the blade scoops ink up from the well and causes it to flow onto the belt. The amount of ink which flows onto the belt may be adjusted by adjustment of the distance between the scoop and the belt. This convenient adjustability of the amount of ink which flows onto the belt is one of the features of the present invention.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan of a portion of a conveyor line for cartons and adjacent printing mechanism showing the inking mechanism installed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device, the ink well pan being partly broken away in section.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the structure.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially along the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective of the bottom-most pulley around which the belt is reeved and showing the scoop affixed to project radially from said pulley.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, there is provided a conveyor line 21 along which conventional canned goods cartons 22 are propelled by means of lugs 23 on an endless chain 24. At the printing station there is provided a printing wheel or cylinder 26 having a vertical axis of rotation, this cylinder 26 having removable type 38 afiixed to its periphery, the type being preferably made of rubber. The type may be changed as required to indicate the contents of the cartons passing along the ink station at any given time. The type marks one side of the carton 22 as it passes the inking station and, customarily, a similar wheel is mounted on the opposite side of the conveyor to mark the opposite side of the carton. Cylinder 26 is mounted on a horizontal arm 27 which pivots about a vertical shaft 28, arm 27 being biased by spring 29 toward engagement with cartons 22 as they pass along the conveyor line 21. A large gear 31 is fixed for rotation with wheel 26, and gear 31 meshes with a driving pinion 32 on vertical shaft 28 which is rotated in timed relation to movement of the conveyor chain 24.

Roll 36, having a steel external surface, is mounted on vertical shaft 37 so that the type face 38 on cylinder 26 contacts and receives ink from the inked surface of the steel roll 36. Steel roll carries a gear 39 which meshes with gear 41 mounted on rubber roll 42 and is supported by vertical shaft 43. Idler 44 meshes both with gear 39 and gear 32 and thus drives both the printing cylinder 31, steel roll 36 and rubber roll 42. Shafts 37 and 43 are supported at their tops by horizontal arm 46 and at their bottoms by a horizontally disposed plate 47 which provides a bearing surface to maintain the shafts 37 and 43 vertical. The upper end of rubber roll shaft 43 is formed with an offset eccentric 48, which is received in arm 46. By adjustment of shaft 43 by means of its eccentric mounting, the closeness of contact of the rubber roll 42 with the steel roll 36 may be adjusted and thus the thickness of the ink coating transmitted from the rubber roll to the steel roll may be adjusted. Guard 49 around gears 39 22d 41 depending from bracket 51 is suspended from arm Below the steel and rubber rolls 36 and 42 is an ink pan 56, the bottom of which slopes downwardly and flows into an ink well 57 offset to one end. The vertical sides 58 of the ink pan slope and the lowest side elevation, at one end, governs the maximum filling height of the well. As a practical matter the well is filled below this height so that ink stands in the well below the level of the lowest edge 59.

Pinion 44 causes rotation of rubber roll 42 and this rotative motion also drives coil-spring belt 61. At its lowest point belt 61 is just above the level of the ink in ink well 57. Belt 61 passes under grooved pulley 62 whlch is rotatively mounted near the bottom of L -shaped bracket 63 on a horizontal axis so that the bottom of pulley 62 is slightly above the level of ink in the ink well 57. Bracket 63 extends up from socket 64 in well 57 in a vertical stretch 66 and bends horizontally to provide an upper mounting 67 for the top of shaft 43 of rubber roll 42. Two additional grooved pulleys 68 and 69 are rotatively mounted on a horizontal axis 71 on bracket 63, axis 71 being transverse to axis of the bottom pulley 62 and pulleys 68 and 69 being spaced apart a distance equal to the diameter of pulley 62. The tops of pulleys, 68 and 69 are at the same elevation as the top of rubber roll 42 and above said roll a peripheral groove 72 is formed in gear 41, this groove constituting, in effect, a fourth pulley. Belt 61 thus passes under bottom pulley 62, then vert1- cally upwardly on either side thereof and over pulleys 68 and 69 and thence horizontally around groove 72.

Mounted near the periphery of bottom pulley 62 and extending radially out beyond the periphery of pulley 62 is ink scoop 76. Scoop 76 comprises a flat thin piece of metal with an enlarged head 77 at one end, which head is apertured for the reception of screw 78 which fastens the head 77 to the flat back side of pulley 62 adjacent the periphery thereof. The operative tail 79 of scoop 76 projects beyond the periphery of pulley 62. As pulley 62 revolves, scoop 76 at the lower part of its cycle dips into the ink in the well 57 and some of the ink is carried up by the scoop and runs down and onto belt 61. Belt 61 carries the ink around over pulley 69 and into groove 72 where part of the ink runs down over the rubber surface of rubber roll 42, thereby inking the same. The amount of ink transferred from scoop 76 to belt 61 may be adjusted by adjusting the distance between tail 79 and belt 61. For more ink, the tail 79 is bent closer toward spring 61 and for less ink the tail is bent away from spring 61. Thus, with each rotation of the pulley 62 a quantity of ink is transferred from the well 57 to the belt 61.

The device operates as follows:

As the conveyor 21 advances, printing cylinder 26 is rotated and at the same time steel roller 36 and rubber roller 42 are revolved. Ink is scooped up by the tail 79 of scoop 76 and runs onto the belt 61 as pulley 62 is revolved. From belt 61 the ink is transferred to the top edge of rubber roller 42 whence it runs down over the surface of the rubber roller. Ink is transferred from the rubber roller 42 to the steel roll 36 which is in contact with the type 38 on cylinder 26 thereby inking the cylinder and in turn printing the cartons 22 passing along the conveyor.

The foregoing mechanism applies ink to the type face 38 of cylinder 26 revolving about its vertical axis. The ink transfer mechanism is characterized by its simplicity and low cost of manufacture and further by the accessibility of all of its moving parts for cleaning and adjustment. The fact that no tubes or valves are required eliminates clogging of the ink with the passage of time or when the machine is shut down temporarily. Another feature of the invention is the use of a hard-walled, molded rubber jacket for the transfer roll, thus replacing the customary sponge rubber rolls heretofore employed in inking devices of this general character. Inasmuch as the pulley 62 and coil spring 61 are not in direct contact with the ink in the well 57, the tendency of the ink to corrode these parts upon prolonged contact while the inking mechanism is not in operation is eliminated. At the same time an adjustment of the thickness of the ink transferred may conveniently be made by bending the tail 79 toward and away from the spring 61.

Although I have described my invention in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. Ink conveying apparatus comprising an ink well, an ink roll having a vertical axis of rotation, a plurality of pulleys above said well, means for mounting said pulleys, one of said pulleys being located proximate the upper edge of said ink roll, the lowermost of said pulleys having a horizontal axis of rotation and being located proximate said well, a thin, continuous coil spring belt reeved around said pulleys, the bottom edge of the lowermost of said pulleys being located above the ink level of said well, and an ink scoop mounted on said lowermost pulley, said ink scoop having a radially extending tail projecting beyond the periphery of said lowermost pulley, said tail being located so that as said pulley revolves said tail dips into the ink in said well and subsequently transfers the ink by gravity flow onto said belt, said ink being carried by said belt up adjacent the top edge of said roll to be inked to permit ink carried by said belt to flow down over the surface of said roll.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said tail of said ink scoop is flexible and bendable toward and away from said belt to vary the amount of ink transferred from said scoop to said belt.

3. Inking apparatus comprising a vertical axis ink roll, a horizontal first pulley on said roll above the upper edge of the inking surface, an ink pan horizontally disposed below said roll, a well in said pan, a bracket extending up from said well, a second pulley having a horizontal axis rotatably mounted on said bracket with its lower portion slightly above the level of ink in said well, third and fourth pulleys having a horizontal axis transverse to that of said second pulley rotatably mounted on said bracket above said second pulley and having their top edges substantially at the level of said first pulley, a thin, coil sprnig belt reeved around pulleys, an ink scoop mounted on said second pulley, said ink scoop having a tail projecting radially beyond the periphery of said second pulley and arranged to dip into said well as said pulley rotates, said tail being located so that as said tail rises above the level of ink in said well ink flows by gravity onto said belt, said belt being reeved around said pulleys to convey ink up around the top edge of said roll to flow down by gravity over the surface of said roll, and means for driving said belt.

4. Inking apparatus according to claim 3 in which said ink pan is formed so that the lowest edge of said pan is slightly below the lower edge of said second pulley.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said bracket is of an inverted L-shape, said second pulley being mounted adjacent the bottom of the vertical leg of said bracket, the third and fourth pulleys being mounted adjacent the top of said vertical leg of said bracket, and in which the upper end of said roll is rotatably mounted on the horizontal leg of said bracket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

